Who is Tatsuya Imai, the Japanese pitcher the Philadelphia Phillies could land in free agency?
The Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to tap into the rich Japanese baseball pipeline in recent years. Will that change this offseason?
Tatsuya Imai is the latest pitcher from Japan coveted by MLB teams, and the Phillies were listed as a suitor for the right-hander by The Wall Street Journal.
Here's what to know about Imai and the Phillies' recent attempts to land talent from Japan and more.
Who is Tatsuya Imai?
Imai, 27, is a right-handed pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NBP), which is the highest level of baseball in Japan.
In the 2025 season, Imai had a 1.92 ERA with 178 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings and only allowed six home runs. He also pitched a combined game no-hitter in the 2025 season, where he pitched the first eight innings. In another game, he struck out 17 batters in a two-hit, complete-game shutout.
Imai used a six-pitch arsenal with the Lions in 2025, but his three main pitches were a four-seam fastball that can reach 99 mph, slider and changeup.
Imai, a three-time All-Star in the NBP, began his career with the Lions when he was just 19 years old. In eight seasons, he has a 58-45 record with a 3.15 ERA and 907 total strikeouts.
An MLB.com article compared Imai's pitching style to pitchers like Luis Castillo, Max Scherzer, Paul Skenes, among others.
Phillies' previous interest in Japanese baseball stars
MLB teams are hoping that Imai will become the next Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Roki Sasaki, who both went from NBP to the MLB and each had success with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Even though they were long shots, the Phillies were interested in Yamamoto and Sasaki. In 2023, the team reportedly met with Yamamoto, and Phillies slugger Bryce Harper was even involved in the pitch to play in South Philly.
Yamamoto and Sasaki both went to the Dodgers and joined fellow Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers have won the last two World Series, with Yamamoto earning MVP honors in 2025 and Sasaki playing a crucial role in the bullpen down the stretch in the latest championship.
But Imai appears to want to take a different path to MLB than others who have made the transition from NBP — he wants to take down the Dodgers. In an interview with TV Ashi, which is a TV network in Japan, Imai said he wants to beat the two-time defending the champs.
So why not do that in Philadelphia? The Phillies, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees were all listed as suitors for Imai by The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, and that he could get between $150 million to $200 million.
After he was posted by the Lions, Imai has until Jan. 2 to sign with an MLB team.
Why it makes sense for Phillies to sign Tatsuya Imai
While the Phillies have already invested a ton of money into their starting pitching staff, it still makes sense for them to pursue Imai.
The Phillies have a loaded starting pitching rotation with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo and Andrew Painter expected to join the team in 2026, but adding Imai would make it even more elite.
Wheeler could miss time early in the 2026 season as he recoveries from two surgeries that ended his 2025 season. The Phillies are also expected to let fan favorite Ranger Suarez head elsewhere in free agency. With Wheeler, Sánchez, Nola, Luzardo, Painter and possibly Imai, the team could opt into a six-man starting rotation. They've never been shy in investing in starting pitching.
Adding Imai could also potentially help the Phillies tap into Japan's rich talent pipeline. In recent years, the Phillies have worked to expand their scouting in Japan but they haven't had much success so far, according to The Athletic. In January, the Phillies signed Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league deal, but released him in July.
If he were to join the Phillies, Imai would only become the third Japanese born player to play for the club. Tadahito Iguchi and So Taguchi are the only two Japanese born players to play for the Phillies, and neither of them came straight from NPB.